"It's pretty neat," Bolden said minutes after stepping out of the $100 million simulator ride. "It gives someone who has never flown a feeling of that sensation of a liftoff, as the G-forces build up. It's very realistic."

A cast of all-star astronauts turned out for the event, including Bob Crippen, Jim Lovell, Wally Schirra and Robert "Hoot" Gibson.

Roberta Bondar, a payload specialist aboard Discovery in 1992, and the first Canadian woman to fly in space, attracted the attention of at least four Canadian reporters who traveled to Orlando to get her reaction to the ride. "She has big name recognition at home," said Doug English, covering the event for The Toronto Sun.

English and other reporters who tried out the ride seemed as impressed as the astronauts. "The liftoff is wonderful," English said. Not anywhere near as stomach churning, he said, as a roller coaster.

Bolden, who flew four shuttle missions including one with Sen. Bill Nelson, then a Florida congressman, said Disney's attraction is a decent imitation of a real launch, and representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said they hope it might inspire more young people to consider science and space for careers.

"It has good visuals, really good sound effects," Bolden said, then gets into a more fanciful trip to Mars, with a few surprises thrown in for fun that no astronaut would face -- such as dodging meteors.

"They have to compress a lot into a short time frame, all the way to Mars and back," Bolden said with a broad grin.

The one disappointment, Bolden said: "I'd like it to last longer. I'd like to be in there all day."

Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5721.